Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 55
त एव व्रतिनः कांते त एव च तपस्विनः । ध्यातान्येतानि यैर्भक्तैर्लिंगान्यानंदकानने
ta eva vratinaḥ kāṃte ta eva ca tapasvinaḥ | dhyātānyetāni yairbhaktairliṃgānyānaṃdakānane
O dear one, they alone are true observers of vows, and they alone are true ascetics—those devotees by whom these liṅgas in the Grove of Bliss are meditated upon.
Śiva (addressing Pārvatī; Kāśī devotional معيار)
Tirtha: Ānandakanana (within Avimukta/Kāśī)
Type: kshetra
Listener: A sage interlocutor (contextual; not named in this verse)
Scene: Devotees seated in a verdant sacred grove within Kāśī, eyes half-closed in meditation, multiple ancient liṅgas arranged along a shaded path; a serene aura of bliss pervades.
FAQs
Vows and asceticism are fulfilled in their essence through devoted contemplation of Śiva’s liṅgas.
Ānanda-kānana, the ‘Grove of Bliss’ associated with Kāśī’s sacred landscape.
Dhyāna (meditation) on the liṅgas; devotion is presented as the core discipline behind vrata and tapas.